Reasons for Financial Turmoil globally

The recent upheavals in the financial sector have brought a series of Tsunamis in all the countries of the world. The age old adage, “ TOO BIG TO FAIL” has failed following the fall of Biggies of the financial sector. What were the reasons behind for such a free fall of such big entities like Lehman Brothers, Wachovia, Merill Lynch & countless others.  Experts say that the main cause behind such a turmoil is the Sub-Prime lending of loans by the banks & the further trading of the related derivatives done by such Big-Wigs complicated the whole matter & made it all the big.

Another reason commonly known which is frequently published in the public domain is that of the decrease of real estate prices in USA which made all the assets of these banks redundant & thus the banks were not able to extract their principal amount out even. But, I beg to differ from the above mentioned logic & sport an altogether viewpoint by going a bit beyond the obviously looking answers to such a problem which has created havoc in all the economies of the world. I would reason two factors behind such a abysmal fall , one The excessive CAPITALIST mindset & the unbridled autonomy given to Capitalists in the world & second, The increasing globalisation which is exposing the economies to all the lucrative but the most risky wrong doings of the Bullish capitalist nations.

The former reason is all the more powerful & pervading than the latter, because the whole world danced on the seemingly fabulous symphonies of these Modern Mozarts which originated out of whims & fancies of the Capitalists. For long, the whole world has been hailing the Capitalism as it has brought prosperity & growth to nearly all parts of the world wherever it has gone.   CAPITALISM has certainly improved the quality of life that we live, it has exposed us to better technologies at competitive prices which are available to us at our convenience.  But, does that define the overall happiness for a human being. Capitalism has PROFIT MAKING in its roots & stands tall on the same, ignoring the basic utilitarian premise of  Larger Good for Larger mass. This has provided a firm footing for western researchers to develop texts & papers which focussed on developing strategies & maximising the value.  But, a basic question that arises here is , “ Does Profit making is the only way to sustain in this world ?” which in my view attracts a big NO.

Few entities in the western world who had profit making & value maximisation only on their minds which they got sharpened at few of the best training grounds of the planet revolved the money many times over so as to get the maximum output which was not optimum. They trusted(un/intentionally) on the people who had a bad credit worthiness in the market & charged huge interest rates. They treated the above as a bait for the still bigger capitalists & sold these sub-prime but high yielding assets thus taking out their investments & passing the buck to others & booking the profit in the process.  This vicious cycle continued again & again pacified the high return desire & finally culminated into such a big abyss that it has engulfed the entire world.

Globalization which got a boost with improvements in technology has made this world with over 6billion human beings & over 200 countries a small village with enhanced capabilities of doing business at any hour of time from any part of the world. The formation of regulatory agencies which have an aim to increase world trade exposed the people of different countries to each other & also their businesses. People invested in diiferent businesses in different countries to diversify their risks & also in order to increase their ROI. But, things always don’t happen the way you  desire them to be & that’s exactly what happened in America.

The optimisation of the risk & returns was

The above writings doesn’t mean that I support communism or something similar but it is just that I oppose the Extremism. As also the Sanskrit adage goes, “ ATI SARVATRA VARJAYET”, i.e. excess of everything is undesired for. The criticism here is for the unbridled freedom that the capitalists enjoyed in the world’s economic power which has led to this chaos. Capitalism is for sure good for the human society & its growth because of the very fact that it promotes competition which leads to improvements & development. But, tigers if left untamed are for sure going to create bloodbath in the society . This is where I praise the Indian leaders who decided to have a Mixed economy in India , though India faced the music for not switching to capitalist policies for long, & ultimately shifted to a more regulated & controlled capitalistic outlook. This step wise & well regulated process of exposition of Indian Economy has so far ensured a sustainable damage to Indian Markets & Indian Companies. So,this is the time when the Indian Leaders (Business & Political ) to take a note of such a turbulence & make strategies which would spell out safer heavens with moderate returns for the country ,thus achieving the socialist motive of Larger Good for larger masses.

 

 

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THE GREAT FINANCIAL MELTDOWN

The present financial crisis under which the whole world is reeling into has left everyone awestruck. The whole world economy is shifting towards recession & the fears about the situation getting even worse are increasing day by day as the real reasons behind this goof up are revealed. It seems like an abyss with its bottom not to be seen anywhere nearby.

It all started off with the disclosures of the defaults of the sub-prime loans doled out to not at all trustworthy clients. These people were encouraged by the US Govt. to buy houses & easy finance was made available to them & the loans were so designed so that they should get into the system. This led to a boom in the housing market as the property rates went through the roof.

Actually this all started off in 1970s when the Bretton Woods System was done away with by USA,& the USD(Int'l Currency) was debased. This led to creation of imbalances in the Balance of Payments account between the trading countries. The US also used this as an opportunity to utilise & take maximum advantage of the same by financing its fiscal deficit through printing more amount of dollars which in due course of time increased the Inflation levels in various countries across the globe. This problem was further accentuated by the increasing influence of globalization which essentially is a Zero Sum Game but was so modified by US in such a way that it looked like a WIN WIN situation.

All these manipulations continued over a period of over 2-3 decades till mid 1990s when Internet era came before busting in 2000-01 & followed by the Housing Boom which is sending tremors across the globe & are very severe. As per an estimate the overall size due to the MBS & CDSs size is around 62trillion USD & the housing loan market which grew from 4.8trillion USD in 2001 to 10.3 trillion USD. The US Govt. actually promoted this  by pushing the purchase of houses so as to bail out the economy which was reeling under the setbacks after the dot-com bust.

But, these short term measures are creating havoc in present times & the global leaders are working their way out of this carnage & let's hope something sustainable comes out..

Socio-Economic Impact of 11/26 in Mumbai

The evening of 26^th November 2008, on Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus marked the beginning of a renewed era of Terrorism which has left the India as well the entire world awestruck. This carnage started from CST where indiscriminate firing was opened to all the passengers who were boarding the trains in the peak hours back home. Simultaneously, at the same time terrorists(ISLAMIC  JEHADIS) struck at 3-4 other locations in the nearby locations, one of these unlucky places were the likes of India’s First FIVE STAR hotel THE TAJ MAHAL, APPOLOBUNDER & THE OBEROI. The inmates were held hostages & the a huge firing & the grenade attacks started off.

The entire drama ran over 62hours continuously only to end with the deaths of those terrorists & a huge number of Civilians (156 as per official estimates & 20 security personnel). A wave of terror spread like the jungle fire & engulfed the entire country & also drew huge attention of International community as well. This incident has offset the impact of the global economic slowdown of the world economy  for a while, though adversely impacting the attractiveness & risk profile of India as an Investment destination for the investors who have been treading a cautious path & are taking out their invested capital from the Indian markets thus creating another bloodbath in the financial territory. The FIIs ( Foreign Institutional Investors) who had  invested over  USD52bn into the Indian markets since year 2003 till date withdrew about USD12bn to fund their home country fund requirements. The recent attacks which were more focussed on the High Profile Society & Elite of Indian Society & to the Foreign visitors, Delegates & the tourists who were staying in the above facilities or were there when militants struck the town.

These attacks have increased the risk of India as a safe Investment Destination with Higher returns & having a moderate risk profile to Moderate to High Returns with High Geo-Political risk. The economy which has grown at an average GDP growth rate of 6.3% in 1990s & 6.2% in the new millenium has been looked up as a LAND OF MILLION OPPORTUNITIES.The markets which are mainly SENTIMENT driven will be adversely impacted. Thus, in this scenario the responsibility of the ex-chequer has also gone up dramatically as it has not been able to deliver on multiple instances. India has been reeling under terrorist activism for over 2-2.5 decades & we have not been able to develop the capabilities to counter such Terror strikes & stop them & ultimately weed them out through their roots. India’s defence expenditure has been always in the vicinity of 2.5-3.00% for over the past few decades , but was downgraded to a mere 1.99% this year in order to build & improve rapport with our neighbours which are none but a pack of GOONS & hooligans who have found solace by doing anti-social activities in India.

In an era of Technology , Indian Security forces are still fighting the AK-47s of the militants with the age old rifles & similar artillery & lathis at times. An average Indian soldier/commando who is willing to risk his life & put the aspirations of his dependants at bay earns a meagre amount as salary & has the age old facilities, protective equipments like Helmets, Shoes etc. This reduction in the Budgetary allocation has fuelled a huge debate on as to how can the GoI  leave the issue un-addressed & unattended . If we look at the statistics of defence expenditure worldwide(3% global average as a % of GDP), it is realized that the scale of allocations needs to be increased to much higher levels given the threats of similar magnitudes. 

This terrorist attack on Mumbai has already resulted into the loss of INR 4000crores in a single day apart from the loss incurred due to the closure of the stock markets for a day which have an average turnover of over INR 32000 crores. This loss can be replicated if the authorities don’t take a note of it right away & prevent the movement of money from Indian Markets & the foreign Investments in the Indian ventures by boosting the confidence of not just investors but also that of the Tourists & other foreign dignitaries. 

OBAMA & impact of his election on global economy & India in particular

When on the evening of 5^th November 2008, trends which started getting converted to the declared results brought about a sea change in the global perspective of millions of people across the world. A democrat candidate was elected who has all the dissimilarities wrt to most of the fellow Americans. He is a Black with a Muslim syllable in his name though has been following Christianity for years but believes in Lord Hanuman(keeps an Idol of HANUMANJI). Thus, a person with so much of conflicting traits & attributes in his personality has been looked upon with immense hope of revival of WORLD ECONOMY & various other burning issues. Obama since has hailed from a very modest background & thus has a strong belief in the equitable distribution of wealth in the masses which he plans to address through the differential Income Tax structure & other booties.

From the recent stats of an EXIT Poll done in US, more than 62% people voted for OBAMA because of the financial turmoil that has been thrown at them by the incumbent government. Just over 10% people responded that IRAQ war & the army deployment was the main issue for voting in favour of Obama. These statistics clearly indicate the change in world order which a common American has now starting accepting by choosing someone whose class/race was considered second to the Caucasians. The main issues before OBAMA are the following:

1.       Address the Global Financial Crisis

2.       Put an end to the atrocities meted to inmates of Guantanamo Bay Prison

3.       Address to the Climate change issues & behave in a more responsible manner.

These above issues as they say are most important & will be sorted out on top priority by the new administration at white house which will take control on 19^th January 2009. But, I think Obama has some other equally important duties & tasks to accomplish as in the liberal policy towards the WTO Regime & not switch to the PROTECTIONISM for which Democrats have been (in)famous for in the past. This broader mindset will indicate the respect for the merit & bring more transparency in overall decision making at the highest level. Obama has been prudent in saying that he believes in Con-census making by taking into account the viewpoints of all the stakeholders concerned. This clearly points to the shift in the Thinking of the West towards the emerging economies of the world,viz. India & China. The American markets have also started looking at these markets of India & China for determining the prices & thus making these Asian giants the PRICE SETTERs from the PRICE TAKERS in the past.

India’s position is a slightly different & better than that of China as India has come much closer to US in the past few years, thanks to the Bush Administration which helped in lifting of the Nuclear Aprtheid that India had been facing for last 34 years  & helped address its Energy Needs. India has also been given special status in the world forum  as Indian Premier was invited to the G8 summit for past few years continuously. Though there are a few issue on which Obama’s viewpoints seem adverse for India :              

1.       Kashmir issue & third Party Mediation

2.       Stern Stand on cutting down of Outsourcing of US jobs to Countries like India.

India has been a staunch opponent of any kind of 3^rd Party mediation to resolve out the Kashmir Issue & this comes as an adverse view on that note. Moreover, Indian outsourcing Industry which is worth USD 40bn & employs most of the Highly skilled inexpensive workforce is very difficult to ignore & if that happens then, it may spell out a disaster for the Indian Economy. But, Som Mittal NASSCOM Chief, “ Its very difficult to ignore India & the value addition done by the Indians in the IT space at a very competitive rates is unmatchable & thus is difficult to remove . This would be against the very Fundamental principles of Economics & the Comparative advantage theory”. 

But, let us wait & watch what all the future has in its store for the world & India per se.

Ancient Indian values & ethics & Modern Management Practices

 

The ancient Indian values & ethos have their basis & foundation rooted deep in SANATAN DHARAM which is eternal & has evolved  over centuries. These eternal & ever relevant principles focus on making the life of a common as fruitful & as relevant as themselves. These principles have been imparted to the masses through various channels viz. Scriptures, Guru-Shishya Parampara, Rites & Rituals to name  a few. The language of the scriptures has been predominantly SANSKRIT which has been termed as DEVBHASHA, & was spoken by the elite in the olden times & thus could sustain itself amongst the masses. Thus, these values were communicated to masses in their own dialect which happened to be the offshoot of Sanskrit( Awadhi, Hindi etc.) by various poets, writers such as Goswami Tulasidas, Surdas etc.  Since, most of the reasoning for the various methodologies & practices were beyond the comprehension of common man, they were incorporated as a religious ritual so that people would follow them which would ultimately help them only.

In Modern times, there has been furore over the relevance & application in the day-to-day life & management practices. These ancient values hold a great relevance & form the basis of modern management principles & have their scientific explanations. When the Indian Sages & Gurus called the rivers, animals etc. as  Mother ( GANGA MAIYYA, GAI MATA  etc.) , amongst myriad others they referred to the Sustainable development in hindsight. These are the natural resources which must be cared for & used judiciously. They meant for MILKING of these resources & not EXPLOITATION.

On the administration & taxation front, Indian ethos propound a very healthy framework by giving an analogy of Honeybees which suck the juices from the flowers in such a way that they are not harmed in any way. When Indian Culture talks of the lesser focus on the outcomes & more on the karma, & propounds that man doesn’t control the fruits & results, it essentially talks of Strategy being put to work. In modern management, there is a concept of Strategic Inflection Point which comes not due to the managers/management concerned but comes from external environment, thus the output is affected adversely whose control goes beyond the Management.

Srimad BhagawadGita , which is the song of the LORD himself is the gist of all ancient Scriptures, & has YOGA as its underlying theme. Yoga, in truest of its sense means Combination, Addition or culmination of various ethos. This also signifies the importance of Dexterity & Skill in all the actions undertaken by the man(agers). Perfection is the key to success, & must thus be practised with fullest of concentration. If we have a look at the learnings from each of the ancient Indian Texts the illustrations would be much more clear & lucid.

SRIRAM CHARITMANAS by Goswami Tulasidas

The above is a scripture which depicts the life of an able administrator, Team Leader, Manager & someone who knows his job very well. The very fact that Lord Rama, was able to form an army out of monkeys in the jungle & motivated  them to walk with him across the sea depicts the true leadership traits that a modern manager should have. Managers should be able to keep their team motivated which has been clearly reflected  in the epic. Management principles such as encouraging lower category of employees, rewards for good work, self-motivation, decision-making, recognition, market survey, market exploitation, time management and the art of communication are aligned with several instances in this scripture.

 

 

MAHABHARATA by  Bhagwan Vedvyas

 

This scripture is the longest epic ever written in the history of mankind. This encompasses a whole lot of knowledge in itself as in Vidura Neeti, SrimadBhagwadgita etc. are a part of the scripture only. The main learning out of the entire scripture is the Governance ,i.e. how should an administrator run his government efficiently by following the DHARMA & not resorting to unfair means which are not in the benefit of the stakeholders. Mahabharata offers valuable lessons in international diplomacy as well  as in management of public finance.

In today’s modern management when ethical judgment and importance of recognizing the

ethical dimensions is talked about, Mahabharat gives excellent analogies to identify the ethical  boundaries. "Rules of ethical conduct", dharmayuddha, for the war were framed by the supreme commanders of each side. Both sides broke most of these laws at least once.

 

BhagvadGita….the song of the LORD

 

Gita  explains the theory of non-attachment to the results of work as under:

If the result of sincere effort is a success, the entire credit should not be appropriated by the

doer alone. If the result of sincere effort is a failure, then too the entire blame does not accrue to the doer.

The driving forces in today's rat-race are speed and greed as well as ambition and competition. The natural fallout from these forces is erosion of one's ethico-moral fibre which supersedes the value system as a means in the entrepreneurial path like tax evasion, undercutting, spreading canards against the competitors, entrepreneurial spying, instigating industrial strife in the business rivals' establishments etc.

 

The main message that has been imparted through the Gita is that “ One should be very focussed while undertaking his mission, & should not rethink while executing the work. The mission should be well thought of before starting & managers should follow  the guidelines religiously.

 

 

 

 

The age-old wisdom of the Indian seers seems to have caught on today in the world of

management. It will only be a reclaiming of our own heritage if we in India return to our spiritual

lineage and reshape it, if need be, to suit the present claims. It is apparent that, we are well

placed to take advantage of this knowledge economy owing to our celebrated spiritual heritage.

Indian spirituality is waiting in the corporate corridors ready to serve the business community.

The need is for self-awareness of it.

A number of factors have brought the spirituality to the centre stage of discussions. A few of

them are:

* Corporate downsizing and retrenchment

* Luxurious lifestyles

* Balancing the personal and professional life

* Materialistic Business approach

* Role conflicts

Besides these spirituality has gained importance because of problem of survival in this hyper

competitive world where growth of education, social upliftment etc are common features.

Employees no longer are happy with professional success or material gains.

 

·         According to Kautilya, four elements that define management excellence are: gaining possession of non-possessed; protecting that which is gained; making the protected grow; and deployment of employees. These are very much relevant to the modern management though the roots are in ancient Indian ethics.

·         Enterprise management forms the basis of the science of ethics, as one learns in a chapter on rajya-niti.

·         Learning about competing enterprises is essential not only for collaborating, but also for `standing alone', reminds Kautilya.

·         To those who ask if materialistic pursuits deviate from virtue, a sutra clarifies that coveting wealth/resources is not counted amongst vices. A corollary is that wealth leaves those who are satisfied with resources they possess.  This implies that without working for growth, even maintaining the given level of performance becomes difficult to achieve.

·         Another sutra reminds that in law enforcement lies one's own protection. "Employment is sustained through enforcement," is a helpful clue to the HR department.

·         And the golden rule, that today's management gurus would also vouch for, is: "When the number of tasks is many, priority should be given to that work which is most fruitful."

 

Visit to 'MATO SHRI" : an abode for elderly..

Today is Rakshabandhan , a festival of love & bond between a brother & sister. I will not forget this year's festival forever in my life ,as I made new sisters who are living an isolated & dejected life all alone with none of their close relatives by their side.
We started off from the college early in the morning, for 'MATO SHRI', the old age home in the KHADVALI around 75Kms from Mumbai. Khadavali is a nice place with a fantabulous landscape.The river flows by in the foothills with clouds so nearby, breeze blows away the long grasses making you feel like as if you are in some remote countryside of England.The small lanes(pagdandiyan) which make way to the residential areas of Khadavali with small children riding their bicycles on clean roads gives an amazing look to the landscape.
Anyways, our purpose of going to MatoShri was to strengthen the bond between the Somaiya Social cell & the inmates of the Old Age home.The main purpose of our team was to celebrate RAKHI with them , so that they don't feel awkward & bad about their vagaries of life which they are suffering at the moment .We had taken some fruits & other gifts along with Rakhis that we thought we will tie them, & we reached there around noon which happened to be their lunch time.The chief caretaker of the facility,Mrs. Chadha introduced us to the inmates & explained the very purpose of celebrating the festival & she asked us to distribute the rakhis to the Lady Inmates so that they can tie them to their male counterparts.
We distributed the fruits that we had taken along with us while they were having their food.The inmates were so enthused & moved by our presence & gesture that they gave their blessings with open arms.The ladies were so happy that they even tied Rakhis to us & asked us if we would come next time as well. They got so happy & enthusiastic with our gestures that they sat with us,sang ,danced,cracked jokes,did some role plays. The overall experience was amazing.They then treated us like our children & served food & felt really good(seemingly).
I had a word with Mrs.Chadha about the history of the inmates & the institution,to which she explained that they are a govt. owned Old age home also supported by some philanthropists of Society, whose efforts are aimed at giving the old people the best that they can get.She also told that they try to convince the children to takecare about their parents (for new admissions) & even go to court of law if they don't find any genuine reason behind their decision to put their parents away from them.
But,in some cases the decision was of old people who actually want to stay away from their families & have none to take care of them .Rising trend of Nuclear Families is also one of the reasons which is driving the concept of OLD AGE Homes in Indian society.

Our team then went on to meet those inmates who are actually immobile & can not move ,most of them being very old who can hardly walk. You just sit /stand beside them for a moment & they will start narrating their story to you.It was as if a lava(accumulated over a period of time)coming out as they found a way out through our ears.One experience was really moving,this old lady was suffering from a bone disease due to which she is unable to do any work.She was ostracized by her daughter in law, who literally told her that she was not of any use of her & thus they can't sustain her stay with them.But, see the irony of the whole situation , she was still praising her children that they should remain happy & prosper wherever they are.

Then , finally we all made a move back to the college enjoying the scenic beauty on our way back to station ,empty handed but our hearts all ladened with praises & experiences & exposure to some of the bitter realities of life.

Consumer:MAHARAJAH of Corporate Jungle

These days, Consumer is a specie which is being in the prime focus of the predators of Corporate Jungle ,but which is surely is not on the verge of extinction, rather has turned the tables for these Mammoths of the jungle & has become the MAHARAJAH with all other animals worshipping the King & doing everything which would delight him.They keep a track of the demeanour of Customer & mould themselves accordingly in the marketplace.
They develop strategies to attract him & compete amongst each other to get his attention.This behaviour is very pronounced in the modern retail stores,where the brands of the companies are so placed at a level such that products which are kept below the eye level.The Marketers get into a tacit contract with the store managers to put their brands at the level mentioned above.It has been observed that the products which are Fast Moving in the store in a given category would be those which are kept below the eye level & are easier to pick & are not at the extremes.An exception would occur only if the customer has a strong brand loyalty & will look out for the brand that he really wants to purchase. This strategy of Marketers is more visible whenever there is either a New Product Launch or Some other Sales Promotion activities happen around, or when the Company has a Strategic Mandate to wipe off the competition by being visible in the shelf. There are a few product categories where there is low Brand loyalty of the consumer & he gets attracted to either the packaging of the product , or the newer tastes,fragrances & has an experimenting mindset like that of some youngsters e.g. Biscuits,Confectionries, Soaps etc.
But, I feel that marketers should also take into consideration ,the role of the Sales personnel in the store who actually are the drivers of the sales most of the times.The brands & Products have to be visible in the marketplace for them to sell.There should be a concerted effort of the marketers along with the store Mangers to train the Sales guys to do well & strategically locate the products.It is the duty of the sales person/attendant to ensure that the shelf is full, because if the shelf is half full or less than that ,then it significantly erodes the Brand Equity of the product & thus erasing the propensity of the consumer to buy.
So, Consumer's behaviour has to be constantly monitored by the Marketers to ensure the successful movement of products from Shelf.

Managing the Quality of Life in Mumbai

Quality of life is the degree of well-being felt by an individual or group of people. Unlike standard of living, quality of life is not a tangible concept, and therefore cannot be measured directly. Furthermore, quality of life consists of two components. The first is a physical aspect which includes such things as health, diet, as well as protection against pain and disease. The second component is psychological in nature. This aspect includes such things as stress, worry, pleasure and other positive or negative emotional states. It is virtually impossible to predict the quality of life of a specific individual, since the combination of attributes that leads one individual to be content is rarely the same for another individual. However, one can assume with some confidence the higher average level of diet, shelter, safety, as well as freedoms and rights a general population has, the better overall quality of life said population experiences.

Having said that , the quality of life can also be attributed to the emotions & aspirations of the people in the society. There are various factors that contribute to the improvement of standard of living & thus , quality of life . Various measures have been devised by various world renowned credible agencies to gauge the development of human life & the standard of living . e.g. HDI ( Human Development Index ) which is based on various parameters such as Life Expectancy , Poverty Level, Level of Education , GDP Per capita(PPP Basis ) ,Gender Equality , & other minor factors viz. Social security etc. In Indian context , HDI has been around 0.614 for the year 2005. India , inspite of being one of the fastest growing economies of the world is at 128^th position in the above ranking . This can be primarily attributed to India’s huge population , improper management of Civic Amenities & the relatively high concentration of industries in some parts of the country leaving other parts impoverished . This may be relevant to say here that the major contributors to the above ranking of India being on the backfoot are the less developed areas (especially BIMARU States , & various rural areas). But , it would be unfair to attribute the whole failure to these parts of the nation. Various Metro Cities viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore ,Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata,Pune etc . are equally responsible if not less .

With Increasing Opportunities due to boom in almost all the sectors of the industry , the Infrastructure in these places has not been proportionately developed. Inadequate Infrastructure with increasing demand has spelled the failure. Some metros like Delhi , Hyderabad,Pune etc. have been able to catch up with the growth , but the situation in cities like Mumbai & Bengaluru ( aka Bangalore ) is still pathetic .

Mumbai , the financial capital of the nation & is one of the world's top 10 centers of commerce in terms of global financial flow. Mumbai is also the commercial and entertainment capital of India, contributing 25% of industrial output, 40% of maritime trade, and 70% of capital transactions to India’s economy. With an estimated population of over 20 million, it is the largest metropolis in India and one of the most populous cities in the world. With a population density of 22000 persons per Square Km, the Mumbai Metropolitan Area which includes cities of Navi Mumbai & Thane, is also the world's 5th most populated metropolitan area.

Apart from the above facts , Mumbai can be termed as a Major driver of Indian Economy with its 40% contribution to Foreign trade , 40% of total Income tax collections, 60% of Custom duties apart from the highest per capita income of Rs 48954/- which is approximately three times the national average .Mumbai is also house to India’s biggest SEZ in Navi Mumbai. But , inspite of all such feel good factors a big question that arises is why the High Quality Living standards are limited to some parts of the city? What are the reasons which are restraining the growth of such a vibrant city & pushing it on the backburner . Mumbai is also the home to Asia’s biggest Slum right in the heart of the city . A slightly deeper analysis will show that there is redundancy & also the lack of adequate facilities in various parts of the city .People travel huge distances of approximately 100+ Kms(to & fro) daily to reach their workplaces located in the plush South Mumbai in extremely unhygienic conditions in Local trains which sometimes becomes very risky . As per a recent report, the number of casualities in various train accidents were over 3200 in the year 2007 . Approximately 6 million people use Local trains daily whereas approximately 3.4 million Mumbaikars use the BEST services in no better conditions.

Mumbai city, especially its Suburbs, are undergoing rapid deterioration as far as the Quality of Life of its citizens is concerned. Pollution, Environmental degradation, rising piles of garbage, inadequate health facilities, rapid increase of encroachment and lack of adequate governmental machinery are contributing towards a grim future for the city of Mumbai

Breakup of General Tax collected by BMC in 2002-2003

	City	Suburb
General tax Collected	30%	70%
Total Revenue Expenditure of the BMC	70%	30%

Source: Administration Report of BMC 2002-2003

Quality of Life is difficult to define and means different things to different people'.It can be defined in many different ways. It could be defined by income, the area lived in, number of cars, size of house, whether or not a house has electricity and supply etc. In different countries 'Quality of Life' is defined in different ways that in other countries. It depends on the socio-economic groups of the country. To us 'Quality of Life' can be defined by income, and would not be defined by whether or not we have a water or electricity supply.

If we do an ANDREW’s SWOT analysis for analysing the various pros & cons of the city , we can boil down to following issues .

Strengths 1. Financial capital 2. High per capita Income 3. Locational Advantage 4. Highly Diversified Culture	Weaknesses 1. Inadequate Infrastructure 2. No Alternative Business Districts
Opportunities 1. Revamping the existing Public Transportation Mechanism. 2. Image Makeover	Threats 1. Increasing Pressure on the limited resources.

REMEDIES & FUTURE ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN :

OVERALL : Efforts should be made to transform the city into a purely financial Hub of the nation , & enabling all the major Corporate Houses to shift their operations either to the Suburbs or to the Proposed Satellite cities which should be developed around Mumbai.

Public Transportation:

As mentioned above nearly 10 million people travel on a daily basis in Mumbai,majority of them through the highly crowded local trains .Following are some suggestions to improve the The Public Transportation Mechanism :

1. High Speed Trains –Metro Rail or Meglev which can improve the rail connectivity apart from the good rail connectivity.With distances in Mumbai range as high as some 60 Kms (Churchgate-Virar), the feasibility of such high speed trains is equally feasible. The dependence of masses on the trains is actually unwarranted for if thought on a more rational basis. Suppose, if these trains come to a halt on a given day due to some unforeseen happening such as a Strike (quite common in India) , one can expect the whole of Mumbai to come at Standstill . One can estimate the losses due to only a single day’s suspension of routine work which can run into even lakhs of Crores of Rupees. High Speed Trains can be like Shuttles which should ply only between certain big & important locations such as Bandra, Dadar, Thane etc. A sample route can be :

Thane--- Dadar----CST ; Borivili---Bandra—Churchgate .

The above can be covered through the existing framework of Local trains . Metro Rail has already been given the clearance but is still hasn’t seen the light of the day (practically) due to some political compulsions & vaiorus unsaid reasons .

2. Monorail : This is a concept that is prevalent in most of the big Cosmopolitan cities of the world where there is a constraint on the available space like Kuala Lumpur. The same can be implemented in Mumbai as well. With the improvement in Infrastructure & building of new flyovers ,provisions for incorporating the monorails can be done to run parallely with the Buses & other means of transport .

3. An embargo should be put on the maintaining multiple vehicles in a single family,& more focus should be laid on the travelling by public transport mentioned above ,as is the case with many other major cosmopolitan cities of the world e.g. Tokyo where one can find CEOs of big companies travelling by the public transport as well .

4. Possibilities of Inland Water ways should be explored with due diligence so that the load on the Land can be eased off.

As far as the Governance & Planning of the city is concerned , a revised layout should be drawn which focuses on more participation of the General Public on the lines of BHAGIDARI in Delhi . It has been a successful experiment wherein many civic amenities have been made free of Red-Tapism of bureaucracy & has brought in more transparency in the whole system apart from the increasing the pace of execution of such activities .

Presently in Mumbai , there is MCGM ( formerly BMC) & there are various other departments like Maintenance , Sanitation, Forest , Industries ,Labour Grievances etc. but there is a conflict of Interest & redundancy in all such activities . In Rainy Season , there is hardly any requirement of any Gardening Staff but the load on the Sanitation & Maintenance staff increases tremendously .But, this mismatch of demand & Supply is not addressed properly & things actually go for a toss. The primary reason behind such a mismanagement is none but the Poor Administration & the lack of Coordination amongst the various Sub-Departments of the MCGM & State Government . In my Opinion , the whole facility of administration should be Corporatised with a CEO controlling the overall operations of the City . All the sub-departments should report to him & the organisational structure should be much more flatter than what is at present facilitating the involvement of citizens & the RWAs as is done in BHAGIDARI.The Police should also be brought under the ambit of such a system thus phasing out the requirement of a separate Mayor, Sheriff, Commissioner.Take for example , a Flyover whose work has been at halt for last 3months due to a Water Main being passing through the location where a Flyover Column was planned . Both the concerned parties are blaming each other for such improper planning but , who is suffering from such a tussle , not either of the parties but the daily commuter who has to at least wait for 15mins -25 mins to move out of such a heavy Traffic Jam . Had there been an integrated mechanism, such problems wouldn’t have even arose . So , today Mumbai needs a CEO & a COO who can look after the requirements & address to the strategic as well as day-to-day problems of the city . The abovesaid team should have a bataliion of experts & professionals who can contribute constructively & manage city in the best possible way.

Apart from the above , the Master Plan of the City needs to be revisited as in there should be a development of various Satellite Cities which are designed basically to cater to a particular sector of the industry . The design should be such that residential areas & the shopping districts should be Integrated whereas the Business districts being quite separate so that there is minimum pressure being exerted on the infrastructure as well as the health of the citizens . Such satellite Cities should have excellent connectivities with the main land Mumbai through rail , road , air & even water .The residents of such places shouldn’t feel that there are not in Mumbai rather they should feel otherwise & better due to the facilities being provided by the state .e.g. Satellite City A should be such that it should have only IT companies in one part & in the other part , complete residential area clubbed with the commercial complex & shopping district. The road planning should be such that the commuters don’t have to cross through the shopping area while going for work & vice versa. MCGM which presented a Budget of Rs 12000 crores which is the highest in the world for any Muncipal Body has plush funds at its disposal & can easily plan to invest in such ventures . The same can also be used to increase the tourism due to such fine exotic locations like Matheran, Elephanta caves, Alibagh, Lonavala , Karzat etc. which will add to more revenues to the exchequer.

Moreover, the conditions of the Local Stations is really pathetic & not just inside but even outside the stations. The Main markets of the localities are based around the Stations which increases the congestion on roads & it becomes really difficult for daily commuters to traverse during the peak hours . The local thelawallas & the roadside hawkers should be removed from such congested places so that there is atleast a room for easy movement for citizens .

The Health & Sanitation Services in the City also need immediate attention which is on the verge of turmoil & is about to tremble . There should be more involvement of citizens in addressing such issues & ensuring the adequate levels of Personal Hygiene . Another issue which needs immediate attention is the problem of Slums & the increasing crime rates .Mumbai has the biggest Slum of the Asia which some political leaders feel proud of right in the heart of the city . The main cause of existence of such a bad patch on the Map of city is the Lack of Political Will to remove the slum dwellers & relocate them to other parts of the city . I remember the Hindi Movie NAYAK where a very common Journalist turns the fate of the city in one day . The agility & commitment which is displayed is really commendable & is actually the need of the Hour . The new proposed Corporate entity should involve various NGOs & the work of supervision should be delegated to different RWAs & the old & retired bureaucrats & other Senior Govt. officials .The Administration should also focus on digitizing the whole activities & extensive use of Internet & the GPS. The Traffic management system should also be improved by installation of more automated Traffic Signals & CCTV camera Monitoring of the traffic rule violations at unmanned as well as manned signals .Such a step will have dual benefit as it will

1) Reduce the prevalent corruption in enforcement of traffic rules.

2) It will also create a fear of law amongst the motorists in case of them violating the traffic rules.

There should be efforts directed towards the protection of Consumer Rights by the increasing the awareness amongst the citizens along with the efforts made by Central Govt. The Administrative body should work towards setting up Consumer Courts as for speedy settlement of issues .The complete appointment to execution of the proceedings of these courts should be in the hands of citizens & the NGOs only & their supervision should be in the hands of the Administration . This will bring more transparency in the whole system & more credibility in the legal system .Such an involvement will ensure the proper utilisation of allocated funds apart from the satisfaction level of the localites which will bring in the feeling of belongingness in the citizens & thus creating Positive vibes . These positive vibrations which emanate from such acts will actually increase the productivity of Mumbai & hence , will contribute to the overall growth of the country, thus reinforcing the very spirit of Mumbai of CITY OF DREAMS & EVER AGILE CITY .